The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it was still unsatisfied after organizers of the 68th Venice International Film Festival changed the designation of the origin of a Taiwanese movie, Seediq Bale (賽德克巴萊), from “China, Taiwan” to “Chinese Taipei,” in line with the Olympic model.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman James Chang (章計平) said the designation change, which came after Taipei protested to the festival’s organizers, was unsatisfactory.
“We are not satisfied with the change and want it [the film] to be labeled under either the official name of the country — ‘Republic of China’ — or ‘Taiwan,’” he said.
Photo: CNA
Chang said the ministry would continue to negotiate the matter with the Italian government and the organizers of the festival, which opens today.
The designation change was made to the online list of the -festival’s feature films at 2am yesterday morning.
However, on the list of countries represented at the festival, the nation is referred to as Taiwan.
Wei Te-sheng (魏德聖), the director of Seediq Bale, left for Italy yesterday to attend the festival.
Seediq Bale has been nominated for the Golden Lion award at the festival.
The movie, shortened to 150 minutes from its original four-plus hours for an international audience, is scheduled to make its world debut at 5pm tomorrow.
Before leaving, Wei addressed the controversy, saying it was better to fight back with action than with words.
“If the main response is simply to protest, then people would have nothing to see,” he said, preferring instead to use his movie to give people an understanding of Taiwan’s history and culture. “The most practical thing to do is to introduce Taiwan to the world. There’s no need to say so much.”
Taiwanese director Ang Lee’s (李安) film Lust, Caution (色戒), which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2007, was identified as being from “Taiwan, China,” after efforts by the government to have the designation changed failed because of opposition from Beijing.
Prince of Tears (淚王子), directed by Hong Kong-based Taiwanese director Yon Fan (楊凡) and nominated for the Golden Lion at the 2009 festival, was labeled “China-Taiwan, Hong Kong” and then “Taiwan-Hong Kong, China” following protests by Taipei.
Additional reporting by CNA
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
RSS